Corporate Plan

Guiding Principles
Operating Context
Key Functions
The Collection
Strategic Context
Key Challenges
NFSA’s Performance Framework
Strategic Objectives
Financial Targets and Projections

Guiding Principles

The NFSA upholds the Australian Public Service (APS) Values and Code of Conduct and also abides by the following principles which also provide the organisational context around which this Plan has been developed:

The NFSAA aspires to:

Be the world’s premier archive of Australian audiovisual and emerging media cultural heritage.

The NFSA mission is:

To excite people’s curiosity and inspire their creativity through collection development and preservation, and an informed understanding of Australian audiovisual and emerging media heritage, its cultural diversity and significance.

The NFSA values:

Stewardship – We will collect, care, preserve, manage and interpret the collection to the highest curatorial standards.
Professionalism – We will be a reliable source of authentic evidence of Australia’s audiovisual heritage.
Community and Engagement – We will develop partnerships that extend the NFSA’s networks and complement its status as a national institution of international renown.
Leadership – We will share our expertise.
Diversity – We will embrace diversity in all its forms especially our Indigenous cultures.
Openness – We will provide access to the collection through events, programs, online and with staff.
Innovation – We will showcase expertise through innovative research, service provision, outreach and web based programmes.
Curiosity – We will create relevant and stimulating learning opportunities to inspire visitors and users.
Agility – We will be responsive, adaptable and flexible.

The NFSA expects that its people will:

Be committed to the NFSA Guiding Principles and APS Values and Code of Conduct.
Strive for excellence and be recognised for their professionalism, integrity and innovation.
Behave openly, respectfully, honestly and fairly to others.
Embrace diversity in all its forms.
Work together as a team, respecting a balance of tradition and innovation.

The NFSA values its people through:

Respect for staff skills and depth of knowledge.
Professional development and life-long learning.
Providing a safe working environment.
Reward and recognition for team and individual achievements.

Operating Context

The NFSA is subject to the National Film and Sound Archive Act 2008 (NFSA Act), Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (CAC Act) and the Public Service Act 1999. We also recognise our responsibilities to carry out our activities in accordance with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 2003 (EPBC Act).

This legislative framework provides the NFSA with a clear and coherent basis, reflecting the importance of audiovisual cultural heritage and the professional roles that safeguard and disseminate the collection.

The NFSA’s operational activities are guided by its:

Charter of Operations
Collection Policy and Statement of Curatorial Values
Charter of Curatorial Values, and
Collection Preservation Plan.

Together, these documents provide guidance on the standards, strategies and activities the NFSA undertakes in relation to preservation, collection building and cultural dissemination activities.

Key Functions

The NFSA has a leadership role in audiovisual culture and a broad cultural mandate to manage and build the collection in its care and ensure that the collection is available for and accessible to future generations.

The NFSA’s key functions are to:

Maintain, develop and manage a national collection of moving image and recorded sound material, including a collection of documents and artefacts relating to the creation and distribution of audiovisual works
Preserve, and ensure the permanence of, the national collection of moving image and recorded sound works and related materials for the benefit of posterity and in the national interest
Interpret and make the national collection accessible to the widest possible audience in Australia and internationally, according to curatorial principles
Present the history, art, technology and culture of moving image and recorded sound through a diversity of programs, including the curated exhibition of moving image and recorded sound works; scholarly study of moving image and recorded sound; interpretation of audiovisual works; engagement between the creators and their public; knowledge of Australian cultures and their role in the international context; and
Raise awareness of the national collection and its creative possibilities.

The Collection

The collection includes moving image, recorded sound and associated documents and artefacts of cultural significance. Works range from commercial release documentaries and feature films and recordings; websites relevant to the audiovisual industry; newsreels and broadcasts; television and radio productions of all genres including advertisements; independently produced works; home movies on all formats; international productions which have influenced and been experienced by Australians; and unpublished works including oral histories and early field and music performance recordings of particular cultural or historic interest in the audiovisual industry context.

The national collection comprises works that are derived either by:

Donation (material received free of charge)
Direct acquisition (purchased from external source)
Deposited under either legislated requirements or an agreement with the owner; and/or
Internally generated through the preservation/access process.

The NFSA holds approximately 1,600,000 collection items. This comprises an estimated 1.1 million items that have been accessioned with information on more than 700,000 of these items available via the NFSAA’s online Search the Collection facility.

Strategic Context

The NFSA has stewardship of the national audiovisual collection and for collecting, storing, preserving and making it available.

The Government has a clear expectation that the NFSA will place a high priority on enhancing access to, and interpreting, the collection for a wide range of audiences. To meet these expectations the NFSA is focusing on the following key priority areas:

Continued development of a comprehensive collection of heritage and contemporary works and items that support and represent Australia’s screen, sound and new media developments
Ensuring the highest level of curatorial standards underpins all the work of the NFSA
Strengthening the intellectual and cultural capacity of the NFSA and its people
Development of national and international access channels
Broadening existing and establishing new outreach programs that represent the diversity of Australian cultures
Optimising technological infrastructure for preservation and access
Cultivating alliances, partnerships, networks, and collaborations with relevant sectors.

Since establishment as a Statutory Authority in 2008 the NFSA has made significant progress as a national and international leader, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, in making the collection accessible and in building the collection to represent more fully the diversity of communities and cultures in Australia. This forms a strong foundation for continued growth, upon which the NFSA’s reputation as a key cultural institution in Australia and overseas continues to be built.

The NFSA will continue to promote and deliver a broad range of public access and outreach programs so that as many Australians as possible can enjoy the collection and develop a greater appreciation and awareness of Australia’s audiovisual history and cultural heritage. Redevelopment of the NFSA’s websites enhances access to the collection by increasing the quality, quantity and accessibility of information and interpretation of the collection for all users.

This, when combined with the planned redevelopment of NFSAA public and exhibition spaces, will significantly enhance the NFSA’s offerings to our audiences. Undertaking research into the behaviours, needs and expectations of the NFSA’s audience, customers and visitors will define audience segmentation, enabling a better understanding in relation to NFSA products and programs. This also underpins the NFSA’s increased focus on pursuing commercial revenue opportunities.

The NFSA is fundamentally committed to building our intellectual profile and fostering substantially higher levels of creative activity using the collection through increased level of scholarship and research. Enhancing the use of the collection by Australia’s production, exhibition and education sectors, artists and the general public more widely will also be encouraged. The NFSA is particularly keen to increase national awareness of the NFSA and the collection and the value of audiovisual cultural heritage, especially its potential to contribute to the development of future public policy.

Optimal integration of digital learning websites drawn from the former Film Australia Library and transferred to the NFSA from Screen Australia will be a priority. These sites and the NFSA’s australianscreen online consolidate a new direction for the NFSA in screen culture and e-learning and make the NFSA a major provider of unique, authoritative, media rich curriculum relevant resources.

Engagement with other collecting institutions, as well as the creative production industries it collects from in Australia and internationally, provides the NFSA with access to world class technical expertise, standards and workflow systems and to the finest programs from around the world. Combining this with our role in developing and sharing best professional and archival practice will strengthen the NFSA’s reputation as an influential leader in the collecting sector.

The NFSA remains committed to Indigenous engagement and to enabling and facilitating Indigenous people’s exercise of cultural authority over, and maintenance of, expressions of their cultural heritage contained within the Indigenous audiovisual collections; and to promote Indigenous peoples’ use of the collection to achieve outcomes in areas of particular importance to their communities.

The NFSA headquarters are located in Acton (ACT) within what was originally the home of the Australian Institute of Anatomy. The building and site are significant elements of Australian cultural heritage and retain a high degree of integrity from their original design. The NFSA manages the building and site to conserve its significance in line with its listing on the Commonwealth Heritage List. Consistent with its obligations under the EPBC Act, the NFSA will complete a Heritage Strategy, fulfilling the review and reporting requirements; develop, maintain and review the Heritage Management Plan for the NFSA complex in Acton; and undertake conservation and maintenance works planning and implementation.

The NFSA will continue to embed a strong planning framework that underpins the achievement of the strategic objectives and government expectations, and which has been integral to our achievement of our 2009/10 key performance indicators.

Review of Performance

During 2009/10 the NFSA has made significant progress in achieving the strategic objectives. In addition to ongoing core business, key achievements included hosting the first national acquisitions summit in October 2009, with representation from more than fifteen national, state and regional collections; developing a number of key strategic documents including a triennial Research Plan that focuses on establishing the NFSA as a world class centre of research excellence; and undertaking the first extended review of The Collection Policy and Statement of Curatorial Values.

A number of partnerships were pursued including with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in the Australian Mediatheque, with the US Embassy to present a showcase of “The Film Connection: Australia–America”, work pioneered by the NFSA and the National Film Preservation Board to preserve American silent films that no longer survive in the United States, and with the Australian Research Council in three Linkage Grant projects researching Australian regional and rural cinema exhibition; Indigenous interpretations of the landscapes of national parks in the NT and NSW; and Intellectual Property and Copyright Issues.

A number of events and activities have brought the collection to life, these include the Salon Lumiere event with the announcement of the first screening in Australia of its earliest surviving film Patineur Grotesque and the successful pilot of Cooee Cabaret, an original live show that wove together the Sounds of Australia songs and sounds into a cabaret style performance in Mildura and Gunnedah.

Internationally, activities included the NFSA’s participation in the 2009 review of the New Zealand Film Archive, contribution of text to International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives’ draft Code of Ethics and conducting of training sessions for four audiovisual archivists from the National Archives of Malaysia covering the restoration and preservation of analogue material and the NFSA’s digital preservation standards.

Targets

At 28 May 2010 the NFSA is on track to exceed the majority of its key performance indicators (KPIs) for 2009/10. Acquisitions are on the whole over target due to receipt of a number of significant acquisitions including films from Deluxe Melbourne, Screen Australia and Metro Screen; recorded sound works from the ABC Radio Library and Sony Music; and documents and artefacts from Red Carpet Productions and ATN7. While international film titles are currently trending under target more titles are expected to be acquired in the final quarter of the financial year. Likewise unique visits to Search the Collection (STC) are trending under target but consistent with 2008/09 figures. Redevelopment of the NFSA online environment is expected to significantly improve access during 2010/11. A full report on performance for 2009/10 will be provided to the Minister for Arts.

The following review of performance for 2008/09 is included as required under subsection 34(1)(f) of the NFSA Act.

During 2008/09 the NFSA met, and in many cases exceeded, the majority of its KPIs. There were some areas however, where targets were not achieved:

138 international film titles were acquired against a target of 200 due in the main to unexpected resourcing constraints which have now been addressed. The target is expected to be achieved in 2009/10.
Preservation targets were not met, noting however, that while the number of film titles was below expectation, the number of ‘items’ created through preservation was substantial. By way of explanation, for every film title preserved the number of items created, as a necessary part of the preservation process, will vary. For example eight items were created in order to fully preserve the title Wake in Fright (comprising both sound and film negatives). In addition, preservation of films from the Corrick Collection requires significantly more preservation hours due to the quality and fragility of the film. It is important to note that issues of the number of preservation items and film fragility cannot always be foreseen at the time targets are set.
Unique visits to the STC facility were slightly below expectation. Redevelopment of the NFSA website will significantly enhance STC accessibility into the future.

During 2009/10 the targets and deliverables as identified in the Portfolio Budget Statement were reassessed and in some cases redefined to better reflect operational requirements, resulting in the following:

a new KPI measuring the number of Oral History titles acquired
increased acquisitions target for new media works and documents and artefacts
amalgamating preservation measures into a single KPI
clarifying and revising measures for interactions with the collection and the NFSA
amalgamating measures of visits to NFSA websites into a single KPI, and
redefining the measure relating to collection storage conditions.

Key Challenges and Risks

Significant challenges that may impact upon the NFSA’s capacity to meet government expectations include digitisation of the collection and collection of digital born new media, storage and legal deposit of audiovisual and associated documents and artefacts. The NFSA is addressing these challenges through:

development of a digital strategy to identify and prioritise the most at risk items, migrate these items to a digital format and focus on making the material available to the Australian people
a detailed analysis of storage requirements over the next five years to address predicted physical and digital collection growth rates and identify short, medium and long term storage solutions through purchase or lease options including with other collecting and cultural partner organisations where mutually beneficial
working with agencies across government on proposals to extend legal deposit to audiovisual and electronic material including an analysis of overseas models and how aspects of these could be adapted for Australia’s purposes.

The NFSA’s risk management strategy is detailed in its Risk Management Plan and Fraud Control Plan. The risk profile needs to be carefully managed so as to ensure that core business can continue to be delivered while new and innovative policies, practices and programs are created and implemented. Failure to carefully manage the risk profile will have a significant impact on the NFSA’s reputation and will compromise stakeholder confidence in the NFSA’s ability to operate effectively as a CAC Act agency and to deliver quality outcomes.

While the NFSA is exposed to a diverse range of risks, the following strategic risks receive focused and ongoing Board and management attention:

(a) Networks and Partnerships

The NFSA relies extensively on relationships, networks and partnerships to fulfill the expectations of its key stakeholders and to carry out its charter. Failure to take advantage of these relationships has risk consequences and has the potential to compromise NFSA’s reputation and performance outcomes. The NFSA’s Board and management will invest in managing its external environment with skill so that the institution delivers its expected outcomes.

(b) Retaining and Attracting Quality Staff

The NFSA will be at risk if it is unable to attract, develop and retain skilled employees to meet current and future needs. The NFSA is focused on ensuring the institution is regarded highly in the market place and is viewed as an employer of choice. The NFSA is building a culture based upon the Guiding Principles and will be known for its ethical behaviour in all of its dealings.

Continued growth in the collection increases demand for suitable storage facilities into the medium and longer terms. The NFSA plans to manage the collection’s storage requirements in the context of the Collection policy (including deposits, donations, and direct acquisition of material) and the strategic objectives. Partnerships with collecting and cultural organisations will be pursued where mutually beneficial.

(d) The rapid increase in born digital works including addressing the challenge of digitisation:

Digital has become the preferred medium for the vast majority of film and television works, and virtually all music and recorded sound works created in Australia are now released in digital form. The NFSA’s ability to maintain permanent and accessible records of these activities is therefore linked to its ability to resource the skills and infrastructure needed and to embrace the digital world. The NFSA will need to explore a range of strategies to ensure Australia’s digital cultural heritage is appropriately captured and stored.

(e) The rapid change in the way information and knowledge is used

Twenty first century information and communications technologies are providing the capacity to use information in ways traditional technologies cannot provide. The changing nature of intellectual capital is leading consumers to expect different channels of access to information in both mediated and unmediated form. The challenge ahead is to grow the NFSA’s intellectual and cultural authority in our field while enhancing access to information (the collection) for their own creative purposes.

NFSA’s Performance Framework

The NFSA’s strategic objectives and performance framework have been developed to respond to the challenges and risks faced by the NFSA. They have been tightened and clarified from the 2009-10 Corporate Plan.